Ein halbes Jahrhundert

"The coming calendar year should be a year of celebrations. The end of August will mark the 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress. The beginning of 2017 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. The end of November will mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations' decision to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.

However, Zionism will not be having a year of celebrations next year. On the contrary, the fact that early June 2017 will mark 50 years of the occupation will cast a dark shadow on the Herzl jubilee and the Balfour jubilee and the 29th of November jubilee. Half a century, the Palestinians will say. Half a century, the international community will say. And we too will have no alternative but to look at the calendar and look in the mirror and admit: half a century."

Ein halbes Jahrhundert Besatzung seien ein "Weckruf", meint Ari Shavit (Haaretz, 7. April).

Halb-Moral

"The finger on the IDF trigger is an immoral finger, and when it fires, the shooting is manifestly immoral. In short: The heart wants to believe that we are still merciful, and don’t do to others what was hateful to us. But the reality attests that that is not the Jewish political teaching of our time. And the conclusion: The IDF is not the most moral army in the world, and by definition cannot be. Some of its soldiers still are, and fortunately we still have the other half of the nation, which ensures that the IDF is 'the most semi-moral army in the world.'"

Ein israelischer Soldat hat einen verletzten palästinensischen Attentäter per gezieltem Kopfschuss getötet - und damit in Israel eine Kontroverse ausgelöst. Gedanken über "die moralischste Armee der Welt" von Avraham Burg (Haaretz, 5. April)